Is Stress Really a Serious Health Concern?

Just because most people experience high levels of stress, doesn’t mean you can brush it off as no big deal.

Why Do You Say That?

There’s a saying I learned the first time I attended the San Diego Pain Summit: “Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal.” And nothing’s more common than stress. Amiright? The thing is, more than 15-20 minutes of stress at a time (the time it takes to either fight or flee) is not normal. Or at least it’s not normal as far as your body is concerned. You see, your body is only meant to deal with stress in 15-20ish minute chunks. So… when your micromanaging boss breathes down your neck all day and your spouse and kids bombard you with questions, needs, and distractions all evening, as far as your body is concerned… that ain’t normal. Even if you’ve been dealing with these things so long now they seem normal… they ain’t.

In fact, many of the common things we think of as a normal part of aging are actually by products of stress. Allow me to explain.

How Stress Affects You

Before continuing, it’s worth noting that the body treats every type of stress as a physical threat. Historically, that was not only the main type of stressor, it was the only one with potentially deadly consequences.

Stress affects your entire being: body, mind, and spirit. It releases a cascade of hormones that cause changes to occur that will greatly enhance your ability to either fight off a saber tooth tiger or run away from it successfully.

It sends more blood where it’ll do the most good – the arms and legs. To do that, it sends less blood to areas not needed for fighting of fleeing like: the logic and memory centers of your brain as well as your digestive system. Ever wonder why your memory sucks or why you feel so stupid when you’re stressed? This is why.

To get you the quick energy you need, your air passages expand so you can get (and use) more oxygen. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase, as do the glucose (sugar) and fatty acid levels in your blood. High blood pressure isn’t a normal part of aging, but it is a normal part of dealing with too much stress for too long.

Your metabolism also slows down, because blood and energy are being diverted from your digestive system to your limbs. I know it doesn’t seem fair that stress can make you fatter but think of how deadly it would be if your metabolism sped up while you were fighting or fleeing that saber tooth tiger and you suddenly had to go to the bathroom. #GameOver

Long Term Effects of Stress

So I briefly described how the body benefits from an ideally executed stress response. But let’s face it, you probably have regular stressors that last far longer than the ideal 15-20 minute window. So what happens then? Let me break it down by types of effect.

Emotional

Anger

Frustration

Depression

Anxiety

Moodiness

Overwhelm

Difficulty relaxing

Inability to quiet your mind

Low self esteem

Withdrawing

Cognitive

Impaired memory

Inability to focus

Racing thoughts

Constant worry

Forgetfulness

Disorganization

Poor judgement

Pessimism

Physical

Headaches

Migraines

Insomnia

Low energy

Sexual dysfunction

Acne

Eczema

Psoriasis

Hair loss

Nausea

Constipation

Diarrhea

Acid reflux

Ulcerative colitis

Irritable bowel

Aches and Pains

Muscle tension

Clenching jaw and/or grinding teeth

Dry mouth

Difficulty swallowing

Change in appetite

Tinnitus

Cold or sweaty hands and feet

Chest pain

Rapid heart rate

High blood pressure

Frequent colds and infections

Increased blood sugar levels (diabetes)

Increased fatty acid levels in blood

Insulin resistance

Increased risk of heart attack

Increased risk of stroke

Lower metabolism

Obesity

Eating disorders

Decreased thyroid function

Decreased natural killer cells

Increase in virus infected cells

Increased risk of cancer

Increased pressure in the eye (can lead to glaucoma)

Decreased visual acuity

Decreased bone density

There are a lot more ways that long term stress can negatively affect you but I figure this is enough to be getting on with. Don’t you?

However, relieving stress symptoms isn’t enough. You need to reduce the amount of stress you’re dealing with and manage what remains. I can’t tell you what that may look like for you, but chances are good that you could rattle off a good handful of things that would drastically decrease your stress. Some of them might be achievable, a few might even be easy, but I’ll bet a few of them are gonna be hard and require changes that you may or may not be able or willing to undertake.

I can’t tell you what to do, but if your insurance covers it, or you are comfortable enough financially to afford one, a good therapist can help you figure it out. Good friends can encourage and empower you to make changes as well. Just pick ’em off one at a time (the stressors, not your friends), starting with the easy ones and working your way toward the harder ones. I’ll bet you get farther than you think you will, because each stressor that you reduce or get rid of will help fuel the courage and conviction needed to tackle the next change, and the next, and so on.

So, now that you know how seriously stress can affect your health, which stressor are you going to tackle first? Let me know in the comments below.

Oh yeah… feel free to share this on your social channels, especially if you happen to know anyone who has more stress than they should.